Nan Nan

there_sun@163.com

JANEK MANN is a 40-year-old maker who focuses on sensor technology and supports his colleagues as a research associate at the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom by building different devices to support their research. Mann opened a new makerspace LAB ZERO with his friend Alexey Tsverov in August in Nanshan District to provide a place for makers and hackers who are interested in electronics and engineering to communicate.

The German maker came to Shenzhen three years ago. “For electronics, Shenzhen is the main city in the world,” said Mann, adding that electronic development is much faster in Shenzhen.

According to Mann, Shenzhen is actually a place that connects the supply chain together, even though a lot of factories are in Dongguan, Foshan and other Pearl River Delta cities. “In Shenzhen, you have all the representatives of the factories here. You have easy access to materials and components here,” Mann told the Shenzhen Daily.

Printed circuit boards are an essential part of Mann’s products. According to Mann, Shenzhen is more effective and cheaper at making this kind of component. It takes as little as 24 hours to receive an order, and Mann is a prime example. “In China, you pay an additional fee of 200 yuan (US$30), whereas in the United Kingdom you might have to pay as much as 1,000 sterling pounds (US$1,325) for a very urgent order,” he said.

Shenzhen is an inclusive and friendly city, which perfectly matches the city’s slogan, “Once you’re in Shenzhen, you are a Shenzhener,” said Mann.

“It is very easy to feel at home in Shenzhen. I think Shenzhen is a great place for people to come and start something new,” Mann added.

Mann set up a company, Spot Sensors Ltd., which focuses on environmental monitoring for both individuals and cities three years ago in the United Kingdom. Mann has also set up a wiki entry to aid the knowledge exchange between Chinese and international makers, called the “Maker dictionary,” at http://github.com/makerdic/makerdic/wiki.